


Roger

by feathershollyandgolly



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky and His Goats, Character Study, Cute, Gen, Oneshot, Pre-Infinity War, Short, Stop pining after Steve eugh, mild language warning, vine references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 16:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15976592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feathershollyandgolly/pseuds/feathershollyandgolly
Summary: Bucky was just trying to take care of the goats when some weird tech kid roasted his understanding of emotion and opened his eyes. He was too damn old for this._Aka: Bucky had to name one of his goats after Steve, right?





	Roger

Bucky loved his goats. Sure, they weren’t too talkative, but neither was he. They kept him company and didn’t threaten him. (Gerald was a bit of an outlier, but he threatened everyone.) Bucky didn’t care. He had low standards, according to Shuri. Shuri was a character, that was for sure. She was convinced that he was going to shrivel up if he stayed hidden away in his hut. He swore that he went outside. That was enough, right? He was old. He needed a break, dammit.

“You need to go out more.” Shuri stuck her tongue out at him anyway. Bucky really couldn’t tell if she was secretly six sometimes. “You’ve recovered pretty well. I suggest talking to people.”

“Sometimes I’m just tired.” Bucky replied. He really was. The bags under his eyes had lightened, but the weight on his back was the same as always. He was getting better, but he wasn’t ready. Not really, anyway.

“You’re such a stick in the mud. You don’t even read! We might as well rename you Jared.” 

“Jared?”

“It’s from a vine.”

“Oh.”

Shuri tried to pet Gerald, but he butted her hand away and bleated angrily at her. That goat had some anger issues. 

“I heard Luca has given birth.” Shuri said as she tried to pet Alice, with better luck.

“Yeah, only one lived though.”

“What are you going to name him?”

Bucky stared at the packed dirt under his feet. He remembered helping with that birth. Poor Luca. Most of her kids didn’t make it. All but one. The smallest and frailest of the bunch, shivering but intact. He reminded Bucky of someone.

“I’ll call him Roger.” Bucky decided.

“Roger?” Shuri raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t give me that look.” Bucky sighed. “You asked me to take care of them.”

“You have a point. I’m surprised I don’t have twelve goats named Steve already.”

Bucky pretended not to hear her and instead turned to hear a frantic bleating from below. He glanced to the left to see Roger hopping around and butting at Gerald. Gerald bleated back. 

“Oh no,” Bucky picked up Roger, who squirmed a lot more than he expected, “are you trying to get yourself killed before you’ve hit a week?”

Roger let out a baaa and tried to bite him. Much to his annoyance, Bucky dodged his attempt even with one arm.

“Hey, no more of that.” He chided.

Shuri watched on, eyes gleaming. Roger kicked his knobby legs at Bucky to no avail.

“Is that how you and Steve were?” She asked.

Bucky paused and inhaled sharply. 

“Well,” he said, suddenly very intrigued with his shoes. “No.”

“No?” 

“I got him outta trouble a lot, but I wasn’t mothering him or anythin’.” 

“Then what were you doing?”

“...I might’ve jumped in after him.” Bucky showed no visible embarrassment, but he certainly felt like blushing.

“You’re too far gone.” Shuri laughed, eyes twinkling. Well...she wasn’t wrong. “Now you’re naming a goat after him. You should call him Steve Jr.”

“I’m sticking to Roger.” Bucky said. Roger bleated at him and tried to butt him with his tiny horns. Poor kid was frail and angry as ever. Bucky chuckled, putting him down. The tiny goat hopped at his feet. 

“How did Steve live like that, anyway?” Shuri blurted. She quickly amended, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, he didn’t,” Bucky shuffled, “we called in the priest a few times. Dumbass kept getting pneumonia.”

“A few times?”

“Yeah. And if he wasn’t dying in the winter we were working.” 

Bucky sighed at the memories of a two bedroom apartment, with peeling walls and a rickety bed they shared for heat. The happiest moments of his life as well as the scariest moments of his life had occurred on a 36 inch wide mattress. Moments where he couldn’t breathe, heart pounding either from their closeness or from Steve’s ragged breathing. 

“Do you miss Steve? The one from before the serum, anyway.”

“I can’t miss a man that’s still around.” Bucky glanced down at Roger. “But I do think that Cap has had the reigns for a bit too long. Stoicism never fit Steve. He’s always had a few too many feelings.”

“I figured. He did become an international outlaw for you.”

“I asked him not to.” Bucky smiled a bit. “Bastard never listens.”

When he became a symbol, he had told Bucky, it was like wearing a muscle suit. He still felt small, no matter how big he was. Bucky wanted to tell him about his heart, and how it was always big, but against his better judgement kept his mouth shut. Sappy shit like that wasn’t good in a war. It caused problems. Loss was harder that way.

“He’s asked about you, you know.” Shuri offered him a smile. “You should talk to him when you’re ready.”

“Yeah. Makes sense.” He refrained from saying more, because most of all Bucky missed Steve. He missed his dumb grin and his stubborn eyes and the ever soothing lilt of his voice. He missed talking to him like they used to in that cramped apartment during hazy summers and chilled winters. There had been times where everything made sense, especially with Steve’s bright laugh always filling the room. Perhaps those times would come again.

Bucky blinked. He was in the present, far far away from wherever Steve was. Roger hopped around and, unlike Gerald, butt at Bucky’s legs without anger. Shuri was standing next to him, with an understanding smile.

“I should get back, I have a few projects I’m working on and I think my brother did something stupid again.” Shuri chuckled. “I’ll see you later.”

“You too.” Bucky replied. In all honesty, Bucky was not surprised that they got along. She reminded him of his sister Becca. Just like Shuri and T’challa, she would call him stupid all of the time and never failed to get him out of trouble anyway. She didn’t take shit from anyone. It must run in the family. She was gone now. Most people from Bucky’s old life were.

“I guess it’s just you and me.” Bucky pet Roger on the head. Roger bleated. He was still new to the world, still innocent and curious. Bucky hoped he would stay that way. It was always good while it lasted. A lot of things did only just. Bucky has forgotten what it was like to hold onto what was important and actually keep it. Maybe he had a second chance, after all.

Roger let out a worried baaa and stared at Bucky with keen yellow eyes.

“I’m alright, kiddo.” Bucky sighed. 

Roger butted at him. Bucky pat him gently.

“I have a call to make, that’s all.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’ll update the other fanfic I promise! In the mean time, here’s some fluff I came up with on a whim :0 I thought it’d be fun to write Shuri and Bucky’s dynamic. I think they’d be friends honestly Bucky’s real into tech


End file.
